The Prime Minister’s Office has told the Lok Sabha Secretariat that questions related to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund are not permissible under rules related to the conduct of business in Parliament’s Lower House, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

Besides PM Cares, questions and matters pertaining to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and the National Defence Fund are also not allowed under Rule 41(2) (viii) and 41(2)(xvii) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the newspaper quoted the PMO as saying.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Lok Sabha Secretariat did not respond to requests for comments from The Indian Express.

The PM Cares Fund was established in March 2020 with the stated objective of being a dedicated national fund to deal with “any kind of emergency or distress situation” in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fund has been the subject of criticism from Opposition parties, who have raised questions about its transparency and have questioned the need to create the reserve when the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund existed.

The PMNRF was set up in 1948 to provide immediate relief to those affected by natural disasters, accidents or riots. It is entirely funded by voluntary public contributions.

Rule 41(2) (viii) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha states that questions asked in the Lower House “shall not relate to a matter which is not primarily the concern of the Government of India”. Rule 41(2) (xvii) states that “it shall not raise matters that are under the control of bodies or persons not primarily responsible to the Government of India”.

According to the PMO, questions related to the funds are not permissible because they are constituted entirely with voluntary public contributions, reported The Indian Express.

No government money is allocated to them, the newspaper quoted the PMO as having said.

The Union government has on several occasions also said that the PM Cares Fund does not come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

In December 2020, the Union government said in a reply to an RTI query that the fund was “owned and established” by the government. However, it said that the fund does not come under the RTI Act because it receives funds from private sources.

In September 2021, the Union government told the Delhi High Court that the PM Cares Fund can neither be listed as “the state”, nor a “public authority” under the RTI Act.

The High Court held on January 13 that the fund does not lose the right to privacy under the RTI Act, even if it is run by the government.

The observation came while the court heard an appeal seeking the disclosure of the information and documents submitted by the PM Cares Fund to get an income tax exemption.

The Central Information Commission had allowed the plea and directed the Income Tax Department to disclose the information.

In January 2024, a single-judge bench of the High Court had set aside the commission’s directive, ruling that the panel does not have the jurisdiction to order the disclosure of the information under Section 138 of the Income Tax Act.

Section 138 of the Act governs the disclosure of information about taxpayers by the authorities.